Pizza Pide

Sometimes the best food can be found in a dive.  Pizza Pide (Peh-day) is a nondescript eatery on the corner of Gerrard and Pape. You could easily walk by it if not for the hordes that wait on the sidewalk for the streetcar.  If you never had Turkish pizza, you should give it a try. Number 18 is the best as it has an assortment of toppings. Bring a hearty appetite as one pide can serve a couple small appetites for lunch.

Onto the pide. This is no ordinary pizza. It is shaped like a canoe. It is thin crust, but the edges are folded over, brushed with some kind of oil, and baked to a golden brown. There is an assortment of beef pide as well as the chicken with mozzarella, spinach and feta and an all cheese. I suspect the meat is Halal, as it was a Muslim friend who introduced my sister to it.

It comes with some sides: a lemon for squeezing onto the pide, raw onion, tomato, hot peppers and parsley. I found the parsley good for cleansing the palate of pide and onion after the meal.

Assorted pizza on the left, and chicken and mozzarella on the right

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